Waterski Journal N°5

WATERSKI j

o

u

r

WATERSKI PRO TOUR

half way through the season, let's take a look at those who are in shape this year

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

october is coming quicker than you think! Fight to make history at Jack Travers sunset lake is promised to be amazing

SET YOUR MIND UP

world champion and world record holder Ryan Dodd tells you how to turn on your imagination

n

a

°

l

N 5.

AUGUST - OCTOBER 2021

www.radarskis.com

Edito

Charlie Ross entering history running 1@10,25m (41off) at 2021 Swiss Pro Slalom - Ph. John Mommer

This smile says it all! Charlie Ross made himself a name during the 1st stop of the Waterski Pro Tour at Swiss Pro Slalom. Running 1 buoy at 10,25m (41off). Easy score on the pro scene you might think.

Indeed. The thing is Charlie is 15 years old! Promising a great career coming up.

Talking about pro scene. Some skiers are getting out of the shadow. Like Rob Hazelwood, outrageously scored 3@10,25m (41off) the first round at the first tournament of the year! Setting the tone.

Joel Poland set a new overall world record at Ski Fluid in Polk City, Florida.

Hanna Straltsova is bringing gold after every jumps this season, including US Masters and European Championships.

Thomas Degasperi comes in strong in 2021 with a win at home in San Gervasio and a back to back European Champion in Greece.

Sacha Descuns comes back from injury, and takes silver medal at European Championships after only 7 sets of waterski.

Meanwhile, the waterski nation trick contest is sky rocketing charts on instagram. More than 5k people watching stories and voting for skiers. Winner got to be on the cover of the magazine.

Congrats to Joel Poland for his effort and imagination.

Gregoire Desfond

Cover Picture : Joel Poland by Jason Lee

Waterski Journal N°5 6 Waterski Pro Tour

38 Sssshhh, Worlds are coming

you all have seen this name somewhere during the season! Let's take a look back at the results so far, and who is making themselves a name.

we skiers are pretty excited when it comes to World Championships. Well, this one might be the finest we ever experienced since a long time!

46 Waterski / Real Estate

12 Inside Ryan Dodd's mind who never dreamt about being better.

Even the best. Running the passe you never expected. Learn with Ryan how to do that.

52 Matt Rini the coach is bringing you and I, some wise words to get us through that next pass!

15 Herb's life his footprint is so deep in the sport, some of you might not have all the story yet. It's time to remind you who Her O'Brien was and what he have done for the sport.

54 Skier particularity something weird with that kid, have you ever noticed ?

56 Portraits of the month

20 Courtesy of Flowpoint Method we are lucky enough to get some precious advise from Marcus Brown and Jenny LaBaw to help us get better!

Slalom: Will Asher Jump: Lauren Morgan Trick: Giannina Bonnemann

62 Rankings who are the best nowadays?

26 Lookbook some badass picture from photographer of our sport.

Thibaut Dailland is not only good looking and good skiing. He sales houses in Florida and guess what? A bunch of them are nearby a lake!

best

66 Contact Keep in touch.

Pros are on fire on the water!

Slalom Season recap Stop 1 - Swiss Pro Slalom Clermont, Florida, USA

1st 2nd 3rd Nate Smith Freddie Winter Will Asher 3@10,25 (runoff) 1@9,75 (runoff) 2@10,25 (runoff)

2nd Jaimee Bull 4@10,75

1st 3rd Regina Jaquess Vanessa Vieke 4,25@10,75 2@10,75

Stop 2 - US Masters Callaway Garden, Georgia, USA

2nd Will Asher 3@10,25

1st Freddie Winter 3,5@10,25

3rd Nate Smith 3@10,25

2nd Manon Costard 5@11,25

1st Jaimee Bull 2@10,75

3rd Brooke Baldwin 4@11,25

1st Jaimee Bull 4,5@10,75

3rd Chelsea Mills 4@10,75

Stop 3 - Lake 38 Quincy, Florida, USA

1st 2nd Beny Stadlbaur Freddie Winter 3,5@10,25 3@10,25

3rd Jon Travers 3@10,25

2nd Manon Costard 4@10,75

Swiss Waterski Resort Pleasure and Performance SKI LAKES - GOLF COURSE LAKEFRONT VILLAS - EXPERT COACHING

Clermont, Florida +1 407 968 3481

ski@swisswaterskiresort.com www.swisswaterskiresort.com

Stop 4 - San Gervasio Pro-Am San Gervasio, Italie Head to Head finals

2nd Nicholas Benatti

1st Thomas Degasperi

3rd Nick Adams

2nd Samantha Dumala

1st Chelsea Mills

3rd Manon Costard

Stop 2 - US Masters Callaway Garden, Georgia, USA

2nd Jon Travers

1st Nate Smith

3rd Robert Pigozzi

2nd Whitney McClintock-Rini

1st Jaimee Bull

3rd Chelsea Mills

Half way through the season, looks like Freddie Winter and Jaimee Bull are dominating their subject.

Unfortunately, the queen Regina Jaquess is out for few time because of an injury on her knee. Meanwhile, the competition is at his peak this day one! Starting with a 4 way runoff at Swiss Pro to get a winner. Cole McCormick missed the podium but continued to impressed. Nate obviously stated his waterski skills are still here by running 10,25 (41off) to get the title and repeated a solid performance at Stillwaters Pro-Am few weeks ago where he beats Jon Travers in a head to head finals. Not missing a single 10,25 (41off) during the whole event! How about that?!

Freddie had to stop his journey of back to back victories at US Masters and Lake 38 because of an injury at the elbow in San Gervasio. He had to withdraw himself in semi-finals. The all time italian star, Thomas Degasperi did not miss the occasion to put another title on his belt! Fighting against his teammate Nicholas Benatti who kept impress the public run after run. Defeating Benjamin Stadlbaur, top seed after prelims, in first round head to head with a speechless 5,25@10,75m (39off).

Last event so far, Jaimee Bull showed once again she is on top of her game with a head to head final against Whitney, running the full pass at 10,75m (39off). Season is hot, skiers too, let's keep it up.

Follow all the action on www.waterskiprotour.com

Progression and Imagination

by RYAN DODD

How are “We” defining, measuring and more importantly imagining progress?

The “We,” I am referring to is some sort of tribe or breed of person that is proven to be completely obsessed with being on top of the water, towed behind a boat and practicing one of the three disciplines of traditional 3 event waterskiing. We are highly tolerant to consistent failure, are physically adaptable to unnatural forces being applied to the body and are seeking to engage the pleasure centers of our brain. We like to go fast, feel unique sensations on the water, and are in love with pushing to our PERCIEVED boundaries…We also seem to appreciate or in some cases thrive off of competition. Some of us against others, some against ourselves, and some both. For sure we all have that I NEED TO SKI thought on repeat programmed into us. This is really impressive! Maybe we are all the same! We have been programmed to the extent that it is uncomfortable to be outside of our habitat. In case you aren’t aware that is the lake and the boat!

Progression. Lets look into that a little bit.

How do we define it? How do we approach it? How to we notice or monitor it? Currently we look at our score, in practice and competition. We often set goals. Some of us track our fitness, our nutrition, and our Sleep. We are all looking at results. Something very interesting to me is that the results are in some cases completely out of our control. So we stress over and obsess over something we can’t control. It does seem like the elite, the best of the best do have some sort of amazing control.

We can’t possibly know what they are focusing on can we?

My belief is that the must under utilized and most powerful tool we have is our imagination. So often we are being told what to do. Looking at and comparing to others. Watching videos of ourselves and others. What does that do for us?

Comparison comparison comparison. How about we dream a little. Imagine. Feel and truly experience what we are doing. We are accelerating with insane G Force. Hitting ramps.

Skimming over the water. And at times it feels effortless. At times it feels unbearably hard. In the end what we are currently doing is seemingly impossible if we analyze it close enough. Bodies are not meant to do what we do. But guess what.

We are all doing it. We are recovering and experiencing things that are past what people in the past thought were possible.

That is why I am saying Imagine!!! In 30 years skiers will be way better than we are now. Why not try and think like them!

Does going out on the water with the intent of running a new personal best by going down the line, or taking a double cut to hit a new practice PB or saying I am going to win this event, or I am going to stand up my hard trick passes today require or engage the imagination…. Hmmmmm No.

My question is how can you engage imagination, how can you Spark it, Fuel it. Feed it???

On the other hand, I will not avoid the fact that we all want RESULTS. We all want to be able to post the most easily noticed and highly regarded measurement of progress in our sport. The Personal Best, and the Win and the RECORD! That’s what we all talk about. That’s what we relate to when someone asks us how we are skiing or how our set went. Good. I got a PB. Bad I fell early. Good I did my runs. Bad I fell or got a No credit trick. Good I kicked my jump and got a PB and made finals. Bad I crashed. Why are we not talking about the magical experiences? The insane recovery off of ball 3 that looked like it was going to break the boat! The near out the front saved. The skier that experienced weightlessness, and pure joy. The friend’s who had the best day on the lake enjoying the time together. The way the water felt as you engaged the tip into the offside turn and the continuity of the finish and insane effortless acceleration into the wake? The jump where you felt that second lift???

When considering that we all would like to also seek maximum enjoyment, have a rewarding and fulfilling experience over the course of our days on the water I am going to encourage us to all start to think about this a little bit different. I may seem crazy or not make sense. In the end that’s fine. I am ok with that.I think we all need to be ok with that. Its obvious WE are all a little crazy. If you are still reading this you are just like me. An obsessed waterski addict!!!! I am just here to share a little bit of wisdom, and to poke and prod at everyone’s imagination to start to find more unique ways to track, and praise success in our daily training. And in the end, yes maybe we will get some results that by the current definition of success look good on the scoreboard and the podium. Maybe, we won’t. Maybe that isn’t what is best for us all at that moment anyway. Ever thought of it that way?

I am always here to Help, to Inspire, and to Imagine what is coming next on the water. Don’t be shy, I have failed a lot and my lessons are an open book to all who will set everything aside and dream!

www.inspiredbyryan.com

HERB O'BRIEN You might have heard his name. Probably knew what he was doing: building skis. But you surely don’t know that if you ever tried water skiing in your life, you probably have ridden one of his creations!

Former professional skier and Swiss Waterski Resort owner, Clint Stadlbaur, was the first to tell me the story of Herb O’Brien during a diner. It blew my mind thinking how much one man could have left his mark so deep into the sport.

Herb first created O’Brien skis in 1964. He came up with

this

idea

while

watching

his

father,

Edward,

enjoying recreational water skiing when he was just a boy. Looking forward, it is amazing to see how many records were broken with O’Brien skis. Andy Mapple has been one of the most brilliant representatives of the brand with 6 world champion titles, 14 US Masters titles, totalising 168 professional victories during his career.

1964

1972. Woodinville, Washington, USA. Herb decides to build a waterski lake. Nowadays, there is no surprise about going to a lake made for waterski. Long enough to put a slalom course, narrow enough to control backwash and limit wind impact on the water. Back then, water skiing only happened on wide open lakes. Herb was one of the first to dig his own made man lake: Radar Lake.

The lake is still used for R&D and promotional photos and videos. It also host the Herb Cup organized by Radar every summer.

1981 In 1981, Herb came up with a new company HO Water Sports. Obviously, that name rings a bell.

HO skies are still present on every lakes and used by many pro skiers on the Tour such as Will Asher, Chris Parrish, Jon Travers, Jaimee Bull or Beny Stadlbaur.

2006 Radar skis arrose in 2006. Herb left HO and founded Square One, the company that is behind Radar and Ronix

(Wakeboard).

Once

again,

Herb

made

the

waterski industry a present that we still enjoy today.

Radar skis are one of the most known and performant ski brand in the world. Multi-times world champion with Whitney McClintock-Rini, and represented on the Waterski Pro Tour with top men and women like Joel Poland,

Paige

Rini,

Corey

Vaughn

or

Jason

McClintock.

Sources https://herbobrien.weebly.com/ https://wakeboardinghalloffame.com/ Photo courtesy of Brooks Wilson and Radar skis

Alignment in Skiing, Training, Life By: FlowPoint Method (Marcus Brown and Jenny LaBaw) Alignment: (noun) 1. arrangement in a straight line or in a correct or appropriate relative position.

2. a position of agreement or alliance

Alignment in sport is the infrastructure upon which all other work should be built. Without a strong foundation, whether that be skills or technical understanding or actual physical positioning, the support won’t be there to withstand the increasing progression of applied forces. In most sports, within the physical domain, this strong and aligned structure is called athletic stance. So for simplicity, we adopt the term athletic stance with the FlowPoint Method as well. If you’ve ever played any other sport (basketball, wrestling, soccer, golf, etc), athletic stance looks pretty similar across the board - feet shoulder width or so apart, bent knees, hips slightly back, chest tall and light on your toes. However, that is NOT athletic stance in waterskiing.

Our sport is rare when it comes to forces on the body. For the purposes of this conversation, we will limit our discussion to the acceleration phase of the course. Some people call this the downswing, but simply put, this phase begins when the rope comes tight at the finish of the turn, and ends when we reach centerline (center of the wakes). When skiing, we are basically carrying a heavy load (sometimes really heavy) with our arms, while simultaneously resisting a heavy load (sometimes very heavy) through our feet, ultimately using both of those forces to propel ourselves rhythmically through a slalom course. What’s even weirder, is we do this from a tandem (staggered) stance with our feet glued to a board. Athletic stance in waterskiing looks a bit more like this....

Key elements of Athletic Stance on a ski: Even arm pressure: shoulders/hips square to boat Hips Up/Hands Down: Glutes engaged and lats on Knees driving forward over toes: Ankles flexed Pressure Through Front Foot Braced Core: Spine aligned, glutes on, midline on, upper back on

Ultimately, Athletic Stance is the skiers best tool to maximize their efficiency: taking rope load and turning it into acceleration is the name of the game, and the better a skier can position their body under load, the better the outcome will be.

In the FlowPoint Method off water program, we call this alignment “getting organized”. The basic concept is that your boney structure (aka: skeleton) is stacked and properly supported with balanced muscular and connective tissue strength to handle loads that are placed on our body. As a skier, your off-water training should prioritize getting (and staying) organized. If you can’t achieve or maintain an athletic stance in a controlled setting off the water, how in the world do you expect it to happen behind the boat?

With every movement we do, we need to make sure we are organized from the start, with the ability to align our spine, support it with a strong core and then move accordingly. What does that mean? It means we need to prioritize the following: -Core to Extremity: To get ready to move, start by getting your spine aligned from tip of head to tailbone. Then, take a breath in through your nose and expand your ribcage 360 degrees, tighten your abs, squeeze your glutes (butt cheeks) and maintain that tension throughout the movement.

Depending on the movement, your glutes may lose some tension, but spinal alignment and core tension should not go away.

-Joint Function: If you are missing joint range of motion, your body isn’t functioning optimally. Period.

Mobility and stability work are critical aspects of being able to find alignment and maintain alignment during movement, not to mention improve performance and reduce risk of injury. For example, if your glutes are weak and the front of your hips are tight, finding Athletic Stance is going to be nearly impossible without putting undue load on the lumbar spine (never Arch your back to achieve Athletic Stance!!).

Sufficient Muscular Strength: Once we have achieved alignment, we need to be able to maintain that with the support of our muscles. When we get out of position, we need to be able to have the strength to get ourselves organized and back into position.

That requires identifying weaknesses and imbalances and correcting them. For example, if you get pulled forward out of a turn, do you have the posterior chain strength and core strength to be able to get your body back into position under load?? If not, you need to develop it, because that is a fundamental part of becoming a better skier and staying healthy.

Will Asher - Ph. Eudes Metivier

With the FlowPoint Method, we use our off-water training program as an opportunity to train our body to achieve the base position of the waterski pyramid, Athletic Stance. We personalize it with movement assessments and follow up tools to help correct your individual limitations that can inhibit your ability to achieve alignment. Below are a few common tools we find our members benefiting from.

Website www.FlowPointMethod.com Instagram www.instagram.com/flowpointmethod Facebook www.facebook.com/flowpointmethod

Upper Back Mobility: Roll T-Spine for 2-5 minutes (using a roller or peanut ball, lay on back with roller/ball across mid back, give yourself a hug and bend knees, use legs to pull body down so roller/ball goes up toward neck and then roll back down).

Strength: Prone Snow Angels (lay on stomach with arms by sides, palms facing floor, feet together, glutes on and tight midline. keep chest on floor and head neutral, move arms like a “snow angel” from sides to overhead without elbows bending).

Prone Snow Angels

Hips Mobility: Couch Stretch for 90 seconds (start on all fours, put one shin up wall and slide down until knee is in crease of floor and wall, squeeze glute on back leg to push hips to neutral. If easy, bring other leg to the side and repeat. If easy, bring other foot out in front and raise body up with hands on box in front of you or until you are fully sitting tall).

Strength: Deadlift (Using something that has mass behind it - barbell, kettlebell, dumbbell, ski bag, sand bag, bands, etc.. start standing tall over object, pull shoulders to neutral, take a big breath in and brace midline and glutes. Keeping your back flat, reach hips back and hinge forward to grab object(s), stand tall to starting position with weight in hands and repeat)

Deadlifts

Core Mobility: Gut Smash for 2-5 minutes (using a squishy ball about the size of a volleyball, lay on stomach and put ball under gut, slowly roll ball to one side and then back across to the other making sure to be able to breathe the whole time.

Adjust to make it your own by slowly moving up/down or side to side. Just remember, “If it feels sketchy, it is sketchy.”.. So get off that spot and move to a different one.)

Strength: Plank Hold get on hands and toes with feet together and hands directly under shoulders, squeeze legs, glutes, abs and actively push into floor with hands. Breathe in expanding 360 degrees in torso and exhale contracting 360 degrees without sagging back or piking hips.

Plank Hold

These are just a few of the things we offer on the FlowPoint Method for skiers looking to change the game in how they approach skiing and how they perform on the water. It isn’t just about your physical state and alignment either. We have a holistic approach to skiing - “a skiers way of life.” So, going a bit deeper, alignment in life is clarifying your personal values and priorities and then removing the excess noise and distractions that life and society will inevitably throw at you. It is finding your flow and letting the rest go.

When it comes to finding the balance between your skiing, training, work and family, and making that all work synergistically, it’s not about “balance”. It’s about diving in deep to see what your priorities/values truly are and then having personal check-ins to make sure the things you’re doing in your life line up with your priorities and values. We aren’t here to tell you what that is, we are just here to remind you to check in with yourself and find your alignment

As skiers it’s very easy to focus on the skiing, and only the skiing. Often, however, much of the potential we leave on the water each day has a lot to do with what we do off the water. Alignment, as we’ve touched on here, is the foundation of what we do as skiers. Understanding what it is (on/off water), how to achieve it, and how to maintain it could be the single biggest factor in making you the skier (and person) you know you can be. For more stuff like this, check us out at the following links, and don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions you may have about this article, or the program!

Jon Travers / Ph. John Mommer

Will Asher / Ph. John Mommer

Freddy Krueger / Ph. Vincent Stadlbaur

Manon Costard / Ph. Tiare Miranda

Robert Hazelwood / Ph. Jay Humphreys

Anna Gay / Ph. Vincent Stadlbaur

2021 WORLD CHAMPIOSHIPS OCTOBER 11TH - 17TH JACK TRAVERS WATERSKI SCHOOL GROVELAND, FLORIDA, USA

Everybody remembers world champions. This title stays with you forever. You can only fight for it once every two years, and skiers leave nothing on the dock when it’s money time!

Last worlds in Putrajaya, Malaysia delivered epic fights in rough conditions. What can we expect this year?

First of all, 2021 world championships will take place on one of the most prestigious and beautiful lakes of the world: Jack Travers Sunset Lakes in Groveland, Florida. This lake is known for being one of the best in the world and delivers perfect conditions for skiers. Despite two last worlds edition in Paris (2017) and Putrajaya (2019) where conditions were challenging for different reasons like weather, backwash and tide.

Sunset Lakes are made for waterskiing. Every single inch of the lake is shaped to fit the sport. Many of the best athletes of the sport live nearby and know this site perfectly.

No excuses this year, if you want to shine, you have to bring your A game and push it to the maximum!

According to the ongoing Waterski Pro Tour, skiers are in shape in all three events and the show is promised to be awesome!

Let’s get into the favorites athletes' standings in every event.

Are you ready for the action?

TWBC will broadcast the whole event live!

L O A M L S

The most accurate ranking to take in consideration is now the Waterski Pro Tour.

Considering top athletes are competing since the beginning of the season against each other in pro events. So here are the 4 favorites for both men and women.

Slalom superstars Freddie WINTER

Jaimee BULL

1 time world champion

2 times pro event winner

leading the pack on

leading the pack on

the Waterski Pro Tour

the Waterski Pro Tour

Will not let got the handle

Jaimee is one of the

until the job is done!

best technician behind the boat, and she will be chasing this title on her own lake.

Watch out!

Nate Smith

Will Asher

Thomas Degasperi

Manon Costard

Chelsea Mills

World record holder

Whitney McClintock-Rini

2x world champion

2x world champion

Defending world champ

Rising pro skier

all time legend

won 2021 San Gervasio

Former world champ

pro-am

Back in the deep short line!

Waterski superstar

Serious contenders

Robert Pigozzi

Sacha Descuns

Jon Travers

Regina Jaquess

Joel Howley

2nd on the IWWF ranking list

8th of the Waterski Pro Tour

Mutli times world champion

Defending world champ

Recovering from injury

Will ski on his home lake

World record holder

Pan-am former champ

Able to run 10,25m (41off)

Able to run 10,25m (41off)

Recovering from injury

Able to run 10,25m (41off)

Able to run 10,75m (39off)

Junior superstar

www.aidecrew.com

Ph. Eudes Metivier

C K I S R T

Trick is always hard! Top athletes are so good, it is hard to determine who is the best!

On both men and women scene, it is going to be exciting!

Check out last Waterski Nation trick contest on instagram to check how insane they can be!

Tricks superstars Pato FONT

Anna GAY

defending world champion

defending world champion

new world record holder

won 2021 US Masters leading the pack on

Pato is winning almost

the Waterski Pro Tour

every event he is attending since his last world

Anna has it all to go get

championships...

that title. However, she has some serious rivalry. No mistakes allowed.

Louis Duplan-

Aliaksei Zharnasek

Adam Pickos

Neilly Ross

3x world champion

2x world champ

1x world champ

Giannina Bonnemann

Paige Rini

Fribourg

2nd at 2021 US Masters

all time legend

broke the 10,000 pts

U21 Superstar

3rd at 2021 US Masters

4th at 2021 US Masters

Serious contenders

Joel Poland

Dorien Llewellyn

if you follow him on

following his father's path

instagram, you know what

Dorien keep muscling his

Joel is capable of

game in every discipline able to trick close to 12k

Erika Lang

world record holder 1x world champion

Adam Sedlmajer

Pierre Ballon

clearly one of the most complete

former back to back

skier out there. Able to trick a lot

US Masters champion

and knows the routine to win.

Vice world champion in Putrajaya

M P U J Ballers! A jumper usually has a part of craziness somehow. Every time they go hit the ramp, it is dangerous. Obviously, if you bring the best jumper out there on a lake that is hand man cut for helping jumpers to fly far + a world champion title at the end of the landing. You can expect some cray things!

Jump superstars Freddy KRUEGER

Hanna STRELTSOVA

5x world champion

2021 US Masters champion

all time legend of jumping

2021 European Champion

Probably the most famous

Jack Critchley

jumper of all time.

Hanna keeps building

If you see Freddie on the

up confidence on the

dock, be sure he is here to fly.

ramp. She can fly far, and

Far...

she proves it more and more.

Joel Poland

Rodrigo Miranda

Lauren Morgan

Taryn Grant

Brit boy, going fast in

Crazy kid who can hit

Always delivering far jump

Star of the discipline

Never far from the lead

the air

the ramp hard. e.g. US

Sacha Danisheuskaya

U21 Superstar, now playing with big jumpers

Masters prelims

Serious contenders

Igor Morozov

russian legend says "Igor is only afraid of not having fun"

Emile Ritter

the expression "leave nothing on the dock" could have been made for this guy. Emile is able to

this dude is one of the most

kick the ramp hard

cool guy to hang out with but when he puts the jumpers

and his not afraid to go for it.

on. He enters an other kind of mood.

He wants to fly!

Felipe Miranda

Ryan Dodd

Jacinta Caroll

world record holder

speaking of jumping, one name

2x Overall world champion

1x world champion

comes to your mind: Jacinta.

Pipe knows to do every thing.

Especially jump!

He has been out this season

4x world champion

due to an injury. But no doubt he

She is the most insane jumper

will be 100% in the competition

the field has ever seen.

if he is able to go out there.

L

O

A R L E V

Overall is tough. It is way harder than you can imagine. You have to train 3 times more than the others. At least. You think you can miss an event because you have another shot in one of the other: WRONG! The field is so highly skilled out there, you have to get every bite of buoy you can, every points possible on your trick ski and grab that extra inch in jump, that can put you on top of the podium at the end. Because, nothing is done until the last jumper of the dock has landed. That's all the beauty of the discipline. And that make you the most complete skier in the world.

Overall superstars Joel POLAND new world record holder

Regina JAQUESS queen of the sport she won them all and still

We talked a lot about Joel

is the one to catch!

already. Because there is

Louis Duplan-

so much to say! He has the

Regina is favorite for slalom

ability to get this title, he now

and overall event. But we

has to bring his A game in

should not forget this is never

every event during the same

an easy task. Even for the best

week of competition.

of all time.

Dorian Llewellyn

Martin Kolman

Fribourg making his way to the talented enough to get his

Giannina

Aliaksandra

Hanna

Bonnemann

Danisheuskaya

Straltsova

3rd at european

2nd at european

championships

championships

defending world champ

greatest of the sport

European champion

name in this article. He will have to deliver something more if he wants to be on top.

Felipe Miranda

2x world champion

Adam Sedlmajer

Thibaut Dailland

former world record holder

vice world champion

2x world champion

Thibaut

Dailland

waterskiing,

is

where

known he

internationally

placed

2nd

in

for

his

Overall

at

athletic the

career

World

in

Waterski

Championships in 2017.

Thibaut is a Residential and Business Florida Real Estate Agent, proudly assisting

homeowners,

business

owners,

and

buyers

with

real

estate

acquisitions and sales.

Thoroughly enjoying the pursuit of a challenge, he uses this drive to serve the

best

interest

of

his

clients.

Thibaut’s

business

is

built

on

communication, determination, and trust, while embodying the ability to cater and adapt to the needs of his local and international real estate and business clients. Let’s have a little chat with him.

Invest, Ski, and Live in Florida – Thibaut Dailland

Why is Florida the best to be for Waterskiers?

Florida is well known to be the waterski capital of the world with over 30,000 lakes (according to Orlando Sentinel), warm weather and many Waterski Schools. This year, the Sunshine State is hosting many important waterski tournaments in our industry with three World Championship (-17, -21 and Open) in addition to Waterski Pro Tournaments (Swiss Pro, King Of Darkness, MasterCraft Pro and Miami Pro). Many companies involve

in

our

industry

are

located

in

Florida,

Nautique

Boats

headquarter,

Waterski

Hall

Of

Fame,

Performance Ski & Surf Pro Shop and Miami Ski Nautique Pro shop. This environment is making Florida very attractive for Waterski enthusiasts.

Despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and resulting economic challenges, Florida’s housing market wrapped up 2020 with more sales, higher median sale prices and more pending inventory compared to the year before, according to the latest housing data released by Florida Realtors. Focusing my work towards Waterski investors, I am having the chance to experience a high demand from buyers looking to invest in their passion by owning a Waterski Property in Central-Florida.

What are the reasons for a high demand to invest in Florida?

Imagine

having

a

ski

set

between

virtual

meetings…The coronavirus pandemic is one of the principal reasons why people relocate because of a dramatic change in the way the world lives and works. The workplace is undergoing the largestscale

remote

work

experiment

in

history,

and

people would prefer to relocate and work in a better environment.

Some

people

are

taking

in

consideration

the

advantage of record-low interest rates and the Florida Tax (No State Income Tax and State Sales Tax 6%).

Eden Ski Lake offers many different opportunities, if you are looking to run a Waterski School, Jet Surf and Jet Ski Academy, the lake is made to accommodate your needs.

There are ancillary buildings including a Clubhouse, Storage Barn, Studio, an Office and Single Family Home.

Tell us more about the market for potential buyers.

Our Florida Real Estate market is offering many opportunities that would fit your needs by presenting many different investments options.

Option 1: Buy a property and have your ski sets in a Waterski Schools.

Option 2: Invest in property located in a Waterski community and become part of the Waterski Club.

Option 3: Purchase a Lakefront property on a private/public lake and have your own boat.

Option 4: Invest in a property with your private lake.

Those investments options have a different costs and our goal is to find you the perfect property that would fit your needs with your budget.

Thinking about turning your property in a vacation home to rent out, the Florida housing market has always been one the

best

parks,

locations.

and

an

Beaches,

array

of

amusement

unique

tourist

parks,

national

attractions

make

Florida one of the most visited states in America.

If you are looking to enjoy Waterskiing and invest in your first home with your dream spot, or an investment property, the state of Florida is the appropriate location.

Economically and environmentally favorable, this area of the United States having a tropical climate is considered by many water skiers to be the place to call home and a popular tourist destination for people all over the world.

The

state

of

Florida

reunites

an

important

waterski

community and it would make you feel part of a family.

Lake Pierrot, a waterski development located in Clermont, Florida. We listed the 11 vacant lots in July 2020. Within less than 10 months, the development is 80% sold out. We were able to attract domestic buyers from California, Colorado, and international buyers from Canada.

Three tips on how to run your hardest pass We all have that one pass that Seems to take longer to crack then the previous passes. That one pass that you’ve been pounding away at for a couple of years that you seem to run when the moon and the stars align but you can’t quite master it. Keep reading and follow the steps below to push through the finish line.

Accept the speed: speed is definitely your friend in the slalom course. Most skiers who get to their hardest pass try to make it feel the same speed as a pass that they can run.

This usually is done by keeping the lean the same or even backing off a bit out of fear of slack and too much speed.

Accept and embrace that you will and need to go faster through the wakes.

2

1

Know your intensity: your opening pass should be easy for you to run very early. Rate your intensity of your opening pass on a scale of 1 to 10. If your opening pass is a 3 out of 10 each time you shorten the rope or increase the boat speed you must increase that intensity number by one. if your hardest pass works out to be a six out of 10 then run the pass before your hardest pass with the intensity that you intend to ski your hardest pass. This will get your body and skiing senses ready for the extra speed that you’re going to feel on your hardest pass.

WORD WITH THE COACH

M A T T

R I N I

Know where to make it feel different: most skiers I see who are trying to learn shorter rope make different movements at the ball as the rope gets shorter and try to make it feel the same behind the boat. The turns should feel relatively the same as you advance through your passes but the swing and intensity behind the boat is where you want to focus your energy. If you were swinging on a swing and maintaining the same distance off the ground and I was to shorten the length of the chains you wouldn’t feel a big difference at the top of the swing you would feel more of the difference as you go faster at the bottom. This principle applies to slalom skiing do your best to make the turns feel the same and make the lean and power behind the boat increase.

3

www.mattrini.com

JOEL POLAND

LEFT OR RIGHT FOOT FORWARD?

Skiers Particularity

Joel is making a great impression on Instagram through out the insane tricks he brings out. But that's not it! He also is a tremendous jumper and slalomer. Getting himself the new overall record recently. One of Joel's particularity other than his super relax attitude on the ski is that he does not have the same foot forward for tricks and slalom. Which is pretty unique. People tend to keep the same foot forward in every discipline and even every sport. Especially such at a high level. So why does Joel is different. I asked him about it. " I’m severely dyslexia & as a young kid I never knew my lefts from my rights. I used to change feet every set without knowing. Sometimes I’d crash and come out of my ski and put the wrong foot it. But eventually we decided to stay left foot forward. Years later when I discover trick skiing on the cable, it was easier to go right foot forward because of the sharp corners. I don’t think anyone noticed for a few months because by the time they did, i could already ride the ski pretty well. Around the 500 point mark I met my coach John Battleday who attempted to change me to a left footed tricker. But it was no use. I was a fairly stubborn kid and did everything I could to stay right foot forward. I think I thought it was cool…

Years down the line around the time I was running 12 m/ 35off. I tried right foot forward slalom. Initially I could barely run the corse, but I dedicated 2 weeks of skiing to see how far I could get and ended up running 14 m/ 28off. I also tried my hand at tricking last year and managed a few flips and some terrible wake spins, a few edges too!!

I don’t believe it has held me back in anyway. If anything it’s helped me. Many people said it would hold me back and it was my mission to prove them wrong.

A theory I have developed is - I spend the majority of the time backwards. Almost every trick starts or finishes backwards. Therefore, my left foot is my front foot.- It’s definitely not a great theory. But it’s the only theory I have."

Slalom skier of the month

Jaimee Bull WJ - How old were you when you started skiing?

WJ - Worse memory? You can choose, funny or serious hah!

JB - My parents started hand towing me along the beach when I was two and I started skiing behind the boat when I was three.

JB - I fell around 1 ball on my first pass at my first Nationals…needless to say, I was pretty upset.

WJ - Favorite training partner?

WJ - Where do you ski now?

JB- I ski in a few places these days. I go to school at the University of Louisiana Lafayette so when I am at school I ski there. I train at Jack Travers Ski School in Groveland, Florida and usually spend a couple months there in the spring as well as during school holidays. In the summer, I try to spend as much time at home in Canada as I can skiing on the public lake that my family lives on.

WJ - How many set per week?

JB - I’ll typically ski between 8 and 12 sets per week but it depends on where I am, what point in the season it is and what my upcoming tournament schedule looks like.

JB - Jon Travers, Will Asher and Rob Hazelwood. These boys are my HO teammates and I’m able to learn so much from each of them while having tons of fun and pushing each other.

WJ - Your ultimate goal?

JB - My ultimate goal in skiing is to push myself and the limits of female skiing as far as I can. I hope to pass on my love for being on the water to younger skiers but also show that you can still succeed in skiing without skiing year round.

I hope I can inspire young girls to pursue sport in the same manner that female athletes did for me when I was young.

WJ - Best set up? (lake, time of the day, boat, pilote, ski)

WJ - Do you have a favorite course?

JB - There are a lot of places I enjoy skiing at, but Sunset Lakes is definitely high up on the list. The site is always dialled, theres always a good crew and lake skis great!

WJ - Best waterski memory?

JB - I’ve been fortunate to have had the opportunity to make many amazing memories in this sport but I think the best memories go back to my roots, skiing morning sets with my whole family on the lake in Canada.

JB - Early mornings on Trout Lake (the public lake I live on at home) with my family are super special. Training and skiing there is not ideal but the lake is beautiful and getting to enjoy it with my family makes it that much better!

@jaimee_bull

Ph. John Mommer

Jumper of the month

Rea Jörger WJ - How old were you when you started skiing?

RJ - I started skiing when I was 8 and jumping when I was 13.

WJ - Where do you ski now?

RJ - I jump in Auburndale, Florida with Scot and Marion Ellis.

WJ - How many set per week?

WJ - Worse memory? You can choose, funny or serious hah!

RJ - I can’t think of one to be honest. My jump journey hasn’t been very long yet and all memories so far have been happy ones or great learning experiences.

WJ - Favorite tournament?

RJ - No doubt my first US Masters. That was a dream come true for me.

RJ - When there is an event coming up I jump three to four times a week, otherwise I do not jump that often.

WJ - Favorite training partner?

WJ - Do you have a favorite course?

RJ - Any of the three jump courses on Lake Tennessee (Scot Ellis’ backyard).

RJ - I couldn’t answer the favorite ski partner question because I always jump alone 😂😂 WJ - Your ultimate goal?

WJ - Best waterski memory?

RJ - Placing 5th at the US Masters a few weeks ago after a jump off for making finals.

RJ - Break the Swiss national record of 53.1m (174ft). I still got a ways to go, but might as well give it a shot!

WJ - Best set up? (lake, time of the day, boat, pilote, ski) RJ - Lake Tennessee at 10am with a Ski Nautique and Scot Ellis behind the weel and being the boat DJ. And of course my all black Goodmans.

@reajrgr

Tricker of the month

Louis Duplan-Fribourg WJ - How old were you when you started skiing?

WJ - Favorite tournament?

LDF - I started to ski at the age of 2 years old on the skis of my parents. I started to trick when I was 6 years old.

LDF- The Us masters are definetly something. I did not have the chance yet to go to the Moomba but it also seems really awesome.

WJ - Where do you ski now?

LDF - I’am skiing on my home lake in Grenoble (France). I am also skiing a lot at Jack Travers’ ski school. I ski sometimes in Lacanau in France during my summer/winter.

WJ - Worse memory? You can choose, funny or serious hah!

LDF - 2017 Junior world in Chili. The final in trick did not happend as planned ...

WJ - How many set per week?

WJ - Favorite training partner?

LDF - It depends but most of the time it is between 6 or 7 sets per week.

LDF - Mister Pierre Ballon. I used to ski with him since I am 14 years old. So much fun and good times with him. He is a good support, calm and nice.

WJ - Do you have a favorite course?

WJ - Your ultimate goal?

LDF - In tricks that’s special because you can trick near everywhere. I do not have a favorite course.

However some places are more specials than others for me but it’s more linked to what I did on them than the conditions.

WJ - Best waterski memory?

LDF - The Us masters are definetly something. I did not have the chance yet to go to the Moomba but it also seems really awesome.

LDF - To be a world champion.

WJ - Best set up? (lake, time of the day, boat, pilote, ski) LDF - Lake Sara at Sunset Lake, FL, USA 2:00 PM Sun is strong, Clouds are huge and low in the sky. My brother Pôl is driving and my coach Jean-François is pinning. We are coming back to the dock with a little head wind. The wake of the ski nautique is perfectly balanced, the quantum ski is ready to cut it and let’s go !

@louisduplanfribourg

SLALOM RANKINGS

source: www.worldwaterskier.com

TRICK RANKINGS

source: www.worldwaterskier.com

JUMP RANKINGS

source: www.worldwaterskier.com

OVERALL RANKINGS

source: www.worldwaterskier.com

CONTACT subscription available on www.waterskination.com greg@waterskination.com IG: @waterski_nation

Editor Gregoire Desfond

Contributor Ryan Dodd / Matt Rini / Robert Pigozzi / Vincent Stadlbaur / Tiare Miranda / John Mommer / Jaimee Bull / Rea Jorger / Louis Duplan-Fribourg / Joel Poland / Marcus Brown / Jenny LaBaw / Brooks Wilson / Jay Humphreys / Eudes Metivier

Waterski Journal is edited by Amber Lake Management 42B avenue de Suffren 75015 Paris France +33 6 78 26 38 21

Printed by Printoclock 229 Rte de Seysses, 31100 Toulouse, France

Thanks to everybody that took part one way or another to make this Waterski Journal #5 edition.

To name a few Brooks Wilson and Radar Aide crew Edge Todd Schafer & Schacres lake Matt Rini Vincent Stadlbaur and the whole Stadlbaur family TWBC Marcus Brown Ambre Franc Freddie Winter Eric Franc Matteo Luzzeri les coureurs Valentin Lucas Tiare Miranda Olivia Merieux Pato Font Aline & Sergio Font ToYou Chris Rossi Will Asher Thomas Degasperi Jon Travers Natalia Berdnikava Joel Poland Robert Hazelwood Ryan Dodd Giannina Bonnemann Lauren "poochie" Morgan Eude Metivier Jay Humphreys Jose Gonzalez Keusseoglou family Paige Rini Igor Morozov Whitney McClintock Rini Robert Pigozzi & Pigoski Marion Mathieu Ellis Scot Ellis Jenny LaBaw Flowpoint Method D3 Todd Ristorcelli Denali MC Skis & Boris Laval FFSNW IWWF John Horton & BallofSpray Watergear.shop Swiss Waterski Resort Jack Travers sunset lakes and the whole Travers family Monaco ski nautique my beloved parents and brothers